share:

OVERVIEW

powered by AFI

Brief Synopsis

Near Chungking, China, Kwan Mei, who hails from a noble family, secretly heads a guerrilla operation and works undercover in a rice paddy to learn Japanese troop movements. When an American "Flying Tigers" plane is shot down near the paddy, Kwan Mei rescues pilot Rodney Carr, while her fellow workers take wounded pilot Pat O'Rourke to safety, and kill the Japanese overseer, when he tries to kill the pilots as they descend with parachutes. Kwan Mei is forced to release Rodney to Japanese Lieutenant Shimoto, who also takes her as a "gift" for General "The Butcher" Kaimura. Kaimura reprimands Shimoto for losing the other flyer, and imprisons Rodney after questioning him. Rodney is then visited by Lavara, a singer of American and Russian heritage, hired to entertain Kaimura. As Kaimura likes cultured women, Shimoto orders Kwan Mei to pretend that she is of noble heritage, unaware that she really is. Kaimura is charmed by Kwan Mei, who hopes to learn about his troop movements, but their tryst is interrupted by news that the overseer's body has been found. As retribution, Kaimura orders the execution of all the rice workers, but Kwan Mei protects her secret troops by convincing Kaimura that the workers serve him better alive, growing food for his army. Kaimura releases all but two elderly men, whom he has shot. After Kwan Mei learns of the imminent arrival of Kaimura's troops, she convinces Lavara to help Rodney escape, then meets with her comrades. Lavara, whose loyalties were initially unclear, now threatens to expose the hotel owner, Hans Gruber, for supplying Kwan Mei with munitions unless he helps her free Rodney. Hans complies only at gunpoint, then yells for the guards. Kwan Mei then has to convince her comrades of her fidelity, as they believe she has succumbed to Kaimura's charms. However, after they see her kill a Japanese soldier who has nearly discovered their hideout, their doubts about her dissolve. Lavara is shot as Rodney escapes, so he takes her and Pat, who has fully recovered from his injuries, with him. As part of their plan with Kwan Mei, they return to their base immediately to launch an air strike against Kaimura's troop trains. Later, as the bombs destroy Kaimura's trains, Kwan Mei reveals that she is the famous guerrilla leader known as "Madame Kwan Mei," and mortally wounds Kaimura. Before dying, Kaimura orders Shimoto to execute the "Lady of Chungking." Kaimura then shoots Shimoto after he orders the execution. As Kwan Mei is led to her death, she speaks out proudly in support of China's victory over Japan. Kwan Mei is shot, but while Kaimura dies, her spirit continues to speak out about the force of peace.